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Aug 23, 2019 By Christopher Roberts The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers are releasing a new album, In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, on September 27 via the band’s own Collected Work imprint, in partnership with Concord. Now they have shared another song from it, “The Surprise Knock.” Listen below, followed by the band’s upcoming tour dates.

Frontperson/songwriter Carl Newman had this to say about the song in a press release: “‘The Surprise Knock’ had a different feel when we first recorded it-and I wouldn’t mind releasing that version at some point. But as I was listening to it, I thought, ‘Why don’t we play this song like New Pornographers 2005?’ Then we just replayed it with that feel. I thought enough time has passed that I feel like I can play songs that sort of sound like a classic a sound and not feel like I’m repeating myself, because it’s been so long. That was definitely a part of it: just wanting to…I hate to say ‘get back,’ but just get more slightly raucous and sounding more like a band.”

Previously the band shared the album’s first single, “Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile,” which was one of our Songs of the Week.

The band’s last album was 2017’s Whiteout Conditions, also released on Collected Works/Concord. In a press release Carl Newman (who also produced the album) says In the Morse Code of Brake Lights is an accidental concept record.

“I was about two-thirds of the way through the record when I began to notice that lyrically so much of it was pointing toward car songs,” he says. “The opening track is ‘You’ll Need a Backseat Driver,’ and that was a metaphor that seemed to be running through other songs, too. Next to the love song, I feel like the car song is one of the most iconic kinds of songs in pop music, from Chuck Berry to the present. There was so much of that throughout it that I started thinking: ‘Oh, no, there’s too many references to cars on this record!’ And then I thought, ‘No, that’s good-people might think it’s a concept album.’”

Read our 2017 interview with The New Pornographers’ Carl Newman on Whiteout Conditions.

The New Pornographers Tour Dates:

Sep 19 - Woodstock, NY - Levon Helm Studios
Sep 27 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre ^
Sep 28 - Urbana, IL - Pygmalion Music Festival
Sep 29 - Columbia, MO - Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival
Oct 1 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue ^
Oct 2 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre ^
Oct 3 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre ^
Nov 4 - Boston, MA - Royale ^
Nov 5 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club ^
Nov 7 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel ^
Nov 8 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer ^
Nov 10 - Saxapahaw, NC - Haw River Ballroom ^
Nov 11 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel ^
Nov 12 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre ^

^ with Lady Lamb

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